Department of Entomology, Rutgers University Blueberry & Cranberry Research Center, Chatsw orth, NJ 08019 USA e-mail: [email protected]; Phone: (609) 726-1590 Ext. 4412; Fax: (609) 726-1593 César R. Rodríguez-Saona PROGRAM GOALS AND AREAS OF EXPERTISE Program Goals : The goal of my Research Program is the development and implementation of cost-effective reduced-risk Integrated Pest Management (IPM) practices for blueberries and cranberries. This goal is achieved through the integration of chemic al, behavioral, and biological methods in insect control and by gaining, through empirically anchored research, a better understanding on the ecology of pe sts and their natural enemies. M y Extension Program delivers IPM information to growers by conducting on-farm demonstration trials, presentations, and extension publications. Areas of Expertise include IPM, Tritrophic Interactions, Biological Control, Insect Chemical Ecology, Insect-Plant Interactions, and Host -Plant Resistance. PROGRAM BY THE NUMBERS PUBLICATIONS = 231 REFEREED JOURNALS = 128 BOOK CHAPTERS AND INVITED PUBLICATIONS = 16 ARTHROPOD MANAGEMENT TESTS (EDITOR-REVIEWED JOURNAL) = 32 NON-REFEREED AND EXTENSION PUBLICATIONS = 55 PRESENTATIONS = 354 INVITED TALKS = 96 PROFESSIONAL MEETINGS (SINCE 2006) = 118 EXTENSION TALKS = 140 POST-DOCS/VISITING SCHOLARS/STUDENT ME NTORING = 68 GRANTS = $ 7,850,397 COMPETITIVE EXTERNAL = $ 4,750,085 COMPETITIVE INTERNAL = $ 143,103 NON-COMPETITIVE = $ 1,957,563 GRANTS-IN-AID AND SERVICE FEES = $ 894,574 h-Index (AS OF NOVEMBER 2020) W EB OF SCIENCE 29 SCOPUS 30 GOOGLE SCHOLAR 38 RG SCORE (AS OF NOVEMBER 2020) RESEARCH GATE 38.34 (h-index = 35) ORCID 0000-0001-5888-1769 W eb sites https://sites.rutgers.edu/cesar-rodriguez -saona/ https://entomology.rutgers.edu/personnel/cesar-rodriguez-saona.html https://pemaruccicenter.rutgers.edu/entomology/ EDUCATION Ph.D. in Entomology 1994-1999, University of California, Riverside, U.S.A. Major Advisor: Dr. John T. Trumble (GPA 3.95) Inside Major: Insect-Plant Interactions / Integrated Pest Management - 1 - Inside Minor: Insect Behavior Outside Minor: Statistics Dissertation Title: "Defensive role of avocado idioblast cells against herbivorous insects and chemistry of the insecticidal constituents" M.Sc. in Entomology 1992-1994, Oregon State University, Oregon, U.S.A. Major Advisor: Dr. Jeffrey C. Miller (GPA 3.76) Major: Biological Control Minor: Integrated (Botany & Statistics) Thesis title: "Improvement of biological control agents: Laboratory selection for fast larval development in the convergent lady beetle, Hippodamia convergens Guérin-Méneville (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae)" B.S. in Biology 1986-1991, Universidad Nacional Agraria, Lima, Perú. Major Advisor: Dr. Inés Redolfi de Huiza Major: Biology – Animal Science (with emphasis in Entomology) Thesis Title: "Bemisia tabaci (Genn.) (Homoptera: Aleyrodidae) and its parasitoids in sweet potato in the central coast of Perú” PROFESSIONAL EXPERIE NCE PROFESSOR AND EXTENSION SPECIALIST IN ENTOMOLOGY. 2016-PRESENT. Department of Entomology. Rutgers University. 70% extension, 30% research. ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR AND EXTENSION SPECIALIST IN ENTOMOLOGY. 2011-2016. Department of Entomology. Rutgers University. 70% extension, 30% research. ASSISTANT PROFESSOR AND EXTENSION SPECIALIST IN ENTOMOLOGY. 2005-2011. Department of Entomology. Rutgers University. 70% extension, 30% research. MEMBER OF THE GRADUATE FACULTY IN THE ECOLOGY AND EVOLUTION PROGRAM. 2006-PRESENT. Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Natural Resources. Rutgers University. SABBATICAL LEAVE (6 MONTHS, WITH DR. NICOLE VAN DAM). 2014-2015. German Center for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv). Leipzig, Germany. Investigated the effects of belowground herbivory on the distribution of plant defenses aboveground. The project involved glucosinolate (HPLC) and molecular (RT-PCR) analyses. RESEARCH ENTOMOLOGIST (POST-DOC). 2004-2005. Department of Entomology. Michigan State University. Conducted laboratory and field studies on the use of plant volatiles for insect control. Investigated the effects of plant volatiles on host plant selection by an invasive species, the emerald ash borer, in the laboratory and field. The project required analyses of headspace plant volatiles by gas chromatography (GC), behavioral assays (olfactometer), and electro- antennogram detection (EAG, GC-EAD). RESEARCH ENTOMOLOGIST (POST-DOC). 2001-2004. Department of Botany. University of Toronto. Conducted studies on multitrophic interactions involving plants, herbivores, and the natu ral enemies of herbivores. Investigated the effects of plant chemical defenses on herbivores and their natural enemies in the laboratory and field. The project required collection of field data on arthropod abundance, examination of parasitoid search behavior through use of wind tunnels, studies on insect performance, and analysis of plant chemistry (proteinase inhibitors, polyphenol oxidases, peroxidases, among others). RESEARCH ENTOMOLOGIST (POST-DOC). 1999-2001. USDA-ARS. WESTERN COTTON RESEARCH LAB. Conducted studies to improve current techniques to control cotton and alfalfa pests with the use of plant volatiles. - 2 - . Investigated the specificity of volatile emission in plants induced by phytohormones and different insect feeding guilds (caterpillars, Lygus bugs, and whiteflies) and its effects on herbivore behavior. The project required the use of GC, olfactometers, and analysis of plant chemistry. GRADUATE RESEARCH ASSISTANT, 1994–1999. Department of Entomology, University of California, Riverside, CA . Tested the effects of plant secondary compounds from specialized avocado oil cells on herbivores to determine their potential role in plant protection. Employed techniques to isolate plant chemicals and bioassays to test their effects on insect behavior and performance. GRADUATE RESEARCH ASSISTANT, 1992–1994. Department of Entomology, Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR . Investigated whether the efficiency of natural enemies can be improved through the selection of specific developmental traits in insects. PUBLICATIONS IN REFE REED JOURNALS (underline indicates undergraduate student/graduate student/post-doc author/co-author) (TOTAL = 128) 2020 1. Tooker, J., O’Neal, M.E., and Rodriguez-Saona, C. 2020. Balancing disturbance and conservation in agroecosystems to improve biological control. Annual Review of Entomology 65: 81–100. 2. Urbaneja-Bernat, P., Polk, D., Sanchez-Pedraza, F., Benrey, B., Salamanca, J., and Rodriguez- Saona, C. 2020. Non-crop habitats serve as a potential source of spotted-wing drosophila (Diptera: Drosophilidae) to adjacent cultivated highbush blueberries. (Special Issue on “The spotted-wing drosophila, Drosophila suzukii (Diptera: Drosophilidae)”). The Canadian Entomologist 152: 474–489. 3. Benevenuto, R.F., Seldal, T., Polashock, J., Moe, S.R., Rodriguez-Saona, C., Gillespie, M., and Hegland, S.J. 2020. Molecular and ecological plant defense responses along an elevational gradient in a boreal ecosystem. Ecology and Evolution 10: 2478–2491. 4. Ludwick, D., W. R. Morrison III, A. L. Acebes-Doria, A. M. Agnello, J. C. Bergh, M. L. Buffington, G. C. Hamilton, J. A. Harper, K. A. Hoelmer, G. Krawczyk, T. P. Kuhar, D. G. Pfeiffer, A. L. Nielsen, K. B. Rice, C. Rodriguez-Saona, P. M. Shearer, P. M. Shrewsbury, E. J. Talamas, J. F. Walgenbach, N. G. Wiman, and T. C. Leskey. 2020. Invasion of the brown marmorated stink bug (Hemiptera: Pentatomidae) into the USA: Developing a national response to an invasive species crisis through collaborative research and outreach efforts. Journal of Integrated Pest Management 11(1): 4; 1–16 doi: 10.1093/jipm/pmaa001. 5. Rodriguez-Saona, C., Alborn, H.T., Oehlschlager, C., Kyryczenko-Roth, V., Tewari, S., Sylvia, M.M., and Averill, A.A. 2020. Fine-tuning the composition of the cranberry weevil (Coleoptera: Curculionidae) aggregation pheromone. Journal of Applied Entomology (Short Communication) 144: 417–421. FEATURED ON THE COVER OF THE JOURNAL 6. Benevenuto, R.F., Seldal, T., Moe, S.R., Rodriguez-Saona, C., and Hegland, S.J. 2020. Neighborhood effects of herbivore-induced plant resistance vary along an elevational gradient. Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution 8:117. doi: 10.3389/fevo.2020.00117. 7. Salazar-Mendoza, P., Rodriguez-Saona, C., and Fernandes O.A. 2020. Release density, dispersal capacity, and optimal rearing conditions for Telenomus remus, an egg parasitoid of Spodoptera frugiperda, in maize. BioControl Science and Technology 30: 1040-1059. 8. Pradit, N., Mescher, M.C., De Moraes, C., and Rodriguez-Saona, C. 2020. Phytoplasma infection of cranberry affects development and oviposition, but not host-plant selection, of the insect vector Limotettix vaccinii. Journal of Chemical Ecology 46: 722–734. 9. Rodriguez-Saona, C., N. Firbas, J. Hernández-Cumplido, R. Holdcraft, C. Michel, S. Palacios- Castro, and D. B. Silva. 2020. Interpreting temporal and spatial variation in spotted-wing drosophila (Diptera: Drosophilidae) trap captures in highbush blueberries. Journal of Economic Entomology 113: 2362–2371. 10. Rodriguez-Saona, C., Urbaneja-Bernat, P., Salamanca, J., and Garzón-Tovar, V. 2020. Interactive effects of an herbivore-induced plant volatile and color on an insect community in cranberry. (Special - 3 - Issue on “Advancing the Use of Plant Volatiles in Biological Control of Insects and W eeds”). Insects, 11, 524; doi:10.3390/insects11080524. 11. Conti, E., Avila, G., Barratt, B., Cingolani, F., Colazza, S., Guarino, S., Hoelmer, K., Laumann, R.A.,